Original press photograph of John Wayne surrounded by admirers, 1953

New York: International News Photos, Circa 1953. Vintage press photograph of actor John Wayne and his admirers celebrating outside of a courtroom on June 12, 1953. Two press stamps on the verso.

Wayne's marriage to his second wife, Esperanza Diaz Ceballos Morrison, was turbulent, with allegations of abuse and infidelity on both sides. The couple separated in May of 1952, and in the preliminary divorce hearings in the spring of 1953, Morrison demanded a substantial increase in alimony ($9000 a month instead of Wayne's offered $900) and a restraining order against the actor. The hearing was decided in favor of Wayne, and he would go on to marry his third (and final) wife, Pilar Pallete, the following year. Esperanza would die of a heart attack four months after the divorce proceedings, at age 31.

9 x 7 inches. About Near Fine, with light wear at the corners.

[Book #161510]